Vertigo Swiss Riviera / Sonchaux Acro Show

Once RedBull quit sponsoring the Vertigo, the Sonchaux Acro Show took its place at the same location. Till nowadays it remain the most visited aerobatics paragliding event.

In 2007 and 2008 the event was called "Vertigo Swiss Riviera". From 2009 the competition transformed into the Sonchaux Acro Show by leaving the official World Cup rules and making it exclusively invitational - only with 16 of the best pilots in the world (with half Swiss and half international).

A brand new format of contest was created: the battle system.
2 pilots fly at the same time next to each other. The beginning of the runs are compulsory where they have to perform the same tricks but the rest of the program is absolutely freestyle. To avoid problems at the landing each pilot have their own raft to land on. One pilot wins, the other loses and the results are published immediately after landing. This format makes turns the event into more of a show and makes it more enjoyable for the spectators.

Technical execution:
The 16 pilots are randomly split up into 4 groups of 4 pilots. In each group all 4 pilots battle against each other. At the end only the best 2 of each group continues so 8 pilots remain. Then the runs of the quarter final (8 to 4), semi final (4 to 2) )and finals for 1st & 2nd and 3rd &4th are held.

Most participating pilots appreciate the concept and the fairly high price money compared to normal World Cups.